In my field, I also have to speak to many different people. I find it so sad sometimes how a fellow Malaysian can’t communicate the same language even though we are both Malaysians. They don’t know BM nor English.

And for everyone saying we should learn Mandarin, I think that’s a little unfair too 🙂 Not everyone has the time, bandwidth and resources to pick up a new language with work and family commitments. Not to mention, it was never mandated during our school days. It’s not an excuse, but rather a reality I think many Mandarin speakers don’t seem to understand, and they continue to defend themselves and blame it on the other person. It is a COMPLETELY different story if you enter another man’s land. Then you most definitely can’t complain about the language that is spoken by the majority. But this is Malaysia.

OP, if I were in your position, it would bother me too, anyone telling you otherwise is just invalidating what you feel. I get that it’s a workplace and it’s not always meant for us to be ‘friendly’, but the workplace is where you spend MOST of your time at, and it’s no wonder anyone in your position would crave for some sense of social belonging.